Noob Introduction & Pre-purchase advice request

[rvn]

Hey all..I hope I'm doing the right thing posting this here as an introduction before hitting up your community for free advice and clogging up your threads.

A bit about me:

I've a few years experience with home brewing beer, however zero with distilling. It's fair to say I have the bug now and will be moving into this one way or the other :)


I would describe myself as somewhat technically minded but not neccessarily practially capable (in terms of the skills or equipement to facilitate "building my own" still etc)
but hopefully what I lack in brain power etc I can make up for with a willingness to apply myself to all your gratiously supplied information.

My Goals

In terms of some clear goal setting I would define that as the following:

A good quality neutral to cater for (in order of priority):

-making "medical tinctures" (possibly NOT the best thing to discuss in "detail" but I've been making various for years but purchasing a high grade 95% from a store as the base)
-gin
-further broadening my horizons into vodka / rums

Saving $ is a bonus but not the driving factor
Time is a factor to be balanced where possible.

Ideally I'm looking at getting a 65LT brewzilla boiler which I can share with my beer brewing interests

Space-wise, I have a 2nd (family size) bathroom that should accommodate everything and can leave things setup for extended periods and obviously
has reasonable access to water, drainage & power. I'd be happy to have some portable shelving setup go in there too if it helps.

Research so far
My current thought process:

My interest was initially flared by some of the equipment I noticed in my local home brew shop during visits for my beer supplies..so basically a
dreaded T500 "pack". It promised 93% in reasonable time and was what I considered to be reasonably priced. This seemed to tick all the boxes above.

After an interesting chat with a bloke at work I began to develop some doubts around the ability of the T500 to produce a good tasting Gin - although time is a
factor, I am interested in quality and was hoping to not just be using essences - so my first doubts appeared.

After more reading I began thinking having an additional Alembic POT & dome to handle the Gin run would overcome this.

So i've been pretty ready to move in that direction however after becoming addicted to gleaning as much info as possible here I've run into
the seemingly inevitable view that whilst these off the shelf kits will be pushed on you at the store, those in the know will avoid them and run superior & cheaper
kit of their own making. (fair comment?)

As above, my capacity to DIY all that is not really an option so I'll be going ahead with my above train of thought or reaching out to someone who
could put something together for me.

Summary
So in summary, I'm wondering if anyone would anyone be interested in supplying me with a proven kit (boka? mac? other?) that would cater for my goals but also your thoughts
on how far I would be from realistically achieving my goals with my original thinking above?

The only other point to clarify is that I won't be going with the "full kit" from the shop since I'm not interested in the
turbo wash (looking at TPW to start) OR carbon filtering.

OK all - many thanks in advance for any time reading this - I'll look forward to any feedback, criticism or otherwise.


Cheers.

[Sam.]

You were close, moved it to the welcome Centre so welcome here mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Sounds like your on the right track, plenty of research before parting with your hard earned is a good idea.

For what you want to achieve you will need a reflux and a pot still OR a bubbler, you need to decide how much you want to spend and how long you want to spend in front of the still.

I won’t elaborate further as I’m on my phone and it’s a pain in the arse to type long posts.

[The Stig]

Welcome.
All I'll say is forget the brewzilla, they don't work for stills

[Carol]

Hi rvn
I have a 2"boka (Boris) and 2"pot still (Natasha) from 5 star (reference is to Rocky and Bullwinkle but you might not be as old as me!!). It is a modular system so cost efficient as the column and boiler are used for both reflux and pot configurations.

I am still a newbie and there is lots to learn but I am really happy with the stills. At the moment I run a pump to recirculate cooling water from my swimming pool but when we move to a pool-free house later I plan to use the bathroom instead.
Happy to answer any questions you might have as a fellow noob.

Cheers
Carol

[Doubleuj]

Gday mate, wish I’d had so much forethought before jumping in and buying the t500.
I reckon a Mac boka is the still for you. Contact FSD/ Andrew, he’ll sort you out :handgestures-thumbupleft:

[rvn]

You were close, moved it to the welcome Centre so welcome here mate :handgestures-thumbupleft:

Oops thanks!

For what you want to achieve you will need a reflux and a pot still OR a bubbler, you need to decide how much you want to spend and how long you want to spend in front of the still.

I'd be willing to spend more on the outlay to save time in the long run I reckon. That said I'm keen to do a half decent job but I'm weary of going full OCD on these things also. I was easily towards 1K speculating the above.

cheers

[rvn]

Welcome.
All I'll say is forget the brewzilla, they don't work for stills

Ouch. thanks!

[rvn]

Hi rvn
I have a 2"boka (Boris) and 2"pot still (Natasha) from 5 star (reference is to Rocky and Bullwinkle but you might not be as old as me!!). It is a modular system so cost efficient as the column and boiler are used for both reflux and pot configurations.

I am still a newbie and there is lots to learn but I am really happy with the stills. At the moment I run a pump to recirculate cooling water from my swimming pool but when we move to a pool-free house later I plan to use the bathroom instead.
Happy to answer any questions you might have as a fellow noob.

Cheers
Carol

This is sounding good - I'll do some research. Cheers! R&B is a fraction early but well aware of it ;

[Professor Green]

Welcome rvn.

Since it looks like you already have the T500, I would recommend you stick with that for neutral for the moment as it does do a reasonably good job of it. Use it to make vodkas and bases for your tinctures whilst you save a few more pennies to put towards a 2" pot from 5 Star. Then you'll have the basic kit for gin making. Once you're at that point then you can think about upgrading from the T500 column if you still think it is necessary. Many people do outgrow their capabilities but there others for whom it does what they need and they are happy with them.

Have a read of this and the articles linked within to help you get the best of your T500.

Also, if you're considering running the still in a bathroom, please make sure you have plenty of ventilation.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

[rvn]

Welcome rvn.

Since it looks like you already have the T500, I would recommend you stick with that for neutral for the moment as it does do a reasonably good job of it. Use it to make vodkas and bases for your tinctures whilst you save a few more pennies to put towards a 2" pot from 5 Star. Then you'll have the basic kit for gin making. Once you're at that point then you can think about upgrading from the T500 column if you still think it is necessary. Many people do outgrow their capabilities but there others for whom it does what they need and they are happy with them.

Have a read of this and the articles linked within to help you get the best of your T500.

Also, if you're considering running the still in a bathroom, please make sure you have plenty of ventilation.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Thanks Prof. I don't have any distilling gear yet - IIRC I had to list "something" in order to register? (mandatory field). EDIT: i've fixed this up now thanks.

So I'm a blank canvas for gear, but you've helped in that my thought process isn't way off so thanks!

[Professor Green]

Either you've changed your profile or I was hallucinating!

OK, in that case, I would look at starting out with a reflx still then adding the pot later as I described. A 2" boka on a 30 litre boiler is good fit for where you're going to be running it (The 5 star Boka's are superb BTW and worth every penny).

[rvn]

Either you've changed your profile or I was hallucinating!

:))

OK, in that case, I would look at starting out with a reflx still then adding the pot later as I described. A 2" boka on a 30 litre boiler is good fit for where you're going to be running it (The 5 star Boka's are superb BTW and worth every penny).[/quote]

It's fair to say I'm leaning this way - I'll look up the 5 stars - thanks again.

[dans.brew]

Welcome to the wonderful world of distillation and AD!
Good work on doing the research... many dive in without really knowing where to start and later on regret it.

Also, if you're considering running the still in a bathroom, please make sure you have plenty of ventilation.

:text-+1: You will need to be very careful about things in a bathroom. I started in a laundry until i outgrew it in the height department... i did have access to outside through a wire door though.
I would even suggest doing a few runs outside when your up and running, just until you've got your head around everything and your confident your gear is on song.
It only takes a simple thing like a few hose fitting problems and before you know it you've got pressurized bore water spraying around inside... :angry-banghead:
The missus doesnt seem to see the humerous side so i found.

[TBone]

Hey all..I hope I'm doing the right thing posting this here as an introduction before hitting up your community for free advice and clogging up your threads.

A bit about me:

I've a few years experience with home brewing beer, however zero with distilling. It's fair to say I have the bug now and will be moving into this one way or the other :)


I would describe myself as somewhat technically minded but not neccessarily practially capable (in terms of the skills or equipement to facilitate "building my own" still etc)
but hopefully what I lack in brain power etc I can make up for with a willingness to apply myself to all your gratiously supplied information.

My Goals

In terms of some clear goal setting I would define that as the following:

A good quality neutral to cater for (in order of priority):

-making "medical tinctures" (possibly NOT the best thing to discuss in "detail" but I've been making various for years but purchasing a high grade 95% from a store as the base)
-gin
-further broadening my horizons into vodka / rums

Saving $ is a bonus but not the driving factor
Time is a factor to be balanced where possible.

Ideally I'm looking at getting a 65LT brewzilla boiler which I can share with my beer brewing interests

Space-wise, I have a 2nd (family size) bathroom that should accommodate everything and can leave things setup for extended periods and obviously
has reasonable access to water, drainage & power. I'd be happy to have some portable shelving setup go in there too if it helps.

Research so far
My current thought process:

My interest was initially flared by some of the equipment I noticed in my local home brew shop during visits for my beer supplies..so basically a
dreaded T500 "pack". It promised 93% in reasonable time and was what I considered to be reasonably priced. This seemed to tick all the boxes above.

After an interesting chat with a bloke at work I began to develop some doubts around the ability of the T500 to produce a good tasting Gin - although time is a
factor, I am interested in quality and was hoping to not just be using essences - so my first doubts appeared.

After more reading I began thinking having an additional Alembic POT & dome to handle the Gin run would overcome this.

So i've been pretty ready to move in that direction however after becoming addicted to gleaning as much info as possible here I've run into
the seemingly inevitable view that whilst these off the shelf kits will be pushed on you at the store, those in the know will avoid them and run superior & cheaper
kit of their own making. (fair comment?)

As above, my capacity to DIY all that is not really an option so I'll be going ahead with my above train of thought or reaching out to someone who
could put something together for me.

Summary
So in summary, I'm wondering if anyone would anyone be interested in supplying me with a proven kit (boka? mac? other?) that would cater for my goals but also your thoughts
on how far I would be from realistically achieving my goals with my original thinking above?

The only other point to clarify is that I won't be going with the "full kit" from the shop since I'm not interested in the
turbo wash (looking at TPW to start) OR carbon filtering.

OK all - many thanks in advance for any time reading this - I'll look forward to any feedback, criticism or otherwise.


Cheers.

Welcome bro!

I'd advise you to get some gear from the 5 Star Store... really good quality!

Keen to see if there's a way you can share your knowledge around tinctures while keeping the content above above board.

[rvn]

Thanks All,

The welcome is much appreciated, as is your valuable time & experience!

I've contacted 5 Star for further information and probably an order and will keep in touch.

Re: the bathroom - it is very well ventilated (has a very large window that will open right out - but thanks very much for the thought, I'll be careful!

[rvn]

Welcome bro!

I'd advise you to get some gear from the 5 Star Store... really good quality!

Keen to see if there's a way you can share your knowledge around tinctures while keeping the content above above board.

Cheers mate, feel free to PM me if you like - or we can talk in riddles if allowed :law-policered:

[rvn]

Just an update for y'all - I've placed an order with Andrew from 5 Star Stills for the 2" Boka & 2"Pot...thanks for all the recommendations, Andrew was very helpful and everything was in stock ready to ship.

Hi rvn
I have a 2"boka (Boris) and 2"pot still (Natasha) from 5 star (reference is to Rocky and Bullwinkle but you might not be as old as me!!). It is a modular system so cost efficient as the column and boiler are used for both reflux and pot configurations.

I am still a newbie and there is lots to learn but I am really happy with the stills. At the moment I run a pump to recirculate cooling water from my swimming pool but when we move to a pool-free house later I plan to use the bathroom instead.
Happy to answer any questions you might have as a fellow noob.

Looks like I will definitely be able to learn a thing or two from you Carol so thanks for the offer - what kind of pump do you use for the recirculating? I suspect I'll be doing something similar in my bathtub.

Cheers

[rvn]

Welcome.
All I'll say is forget the brewzilla, they don't work for stills

Hi Stig - I ended up getting a boiler included my order from 5 Star, which I believe is the Mangrove Jacks 25L (same beast that T500 seems to be bundled with from a lot of places).

Just curious, could you point me to a thread detailing the problems that occur with the all-in-one boilers - I'd be interested in learning more?

Only if you can find a minute, I'll keep looking...

Cheers

[Carol]

Hi rvn Just a quick post to say I have the 350W Ozito submersible dirty water pump - there is a thread on cooling hoses that refers to pumps I think. I also started a thread on the Boka which shows my set up so that might help.

Cheers Carol

[db1979]

Welcome rvn.

Pumps don't need to be super powerful so water feature/pond pumps can be used if setup correctly. These use a lot less power than a water transfer pump and I suspect that if you're running in a bathroom you'll have limited access to power. You don't want to overload your GPO. Coffe addict uses a solar water heater pump off ebay that sounds like a good cheap option that runs on lower power and also handles high temperature (not that you want high temperature in cooling water) so it can also be used to drain the boiler.